In a nonstick sauté pan, heat the butter along with the olive oil until the butter is melted. Add the garlic and sauté for just a few minutes, until the garlic is slightly browned. Add the mushrooms, and sauté until they are “al dente” – about 8 minutes.

Then, add the lime juice and enough beef stock to make a soup. Bring to a boil, then add a few pinches of garlic salt and pepper to taste. Also add a dash of sesame oil and soy sauce. Simmer for about 10 minutes, and serve with thick slices of crusty bread.

Sesame Fennel Salad

Ingredients:

1 heart Romaine lettuce, sliced

1 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced

White balsamic vinegar glaze

Extra virgin olive oil

Black sesame seeds

White sesame seeds

Sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

In a salad bowl, placed the fennel slices atop the Romaine lettuce. Drizzle with white balsamic vinegar glaze and olive oil to taste. Then, sprinkle with the sesame seeds, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

We recently enjoyed another treat from D’Artagnan (www.dartagnan.com) – a special offer on Berkshire Porterhouse Chops.

These chops were juicy and tender, with the perfect amount of fat marbleized throughout the meat. The preparation was very simple. I seasoned the chops with salt and pepper, then made a drizzle consisting of a dash of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, a few tablespoons of brown sugar and several tablespoons of maple syrup. After searing both sides of the chops on a grill pan on medium high heat on the grill, I poured two cups of Chadds Ford Winery’s Spiced Apple wine atop the pork. The apple wine created a sweet glaze as I continued to grill the chops for about 7 to 8 minutes per side.

What side dish could stand up to these generous chops? Baked apples, of course.

Transform ordinary chicken livers into an extraordinary sauce with this recipe from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins, authors of The Silver Palate Cookbook – two of my favorite cookbooks!

“Pitti Palace Pasta”

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken livers, trimmed, rinsed, and patted dry

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

4 fresh ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

8 ounces wide noodle pasta (such as tagliatelle)

If the chicken livers are large, cut them in half. Combine the flour, paprika, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper in a mixing bowl. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Dredge the livers in the flour mixture, and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Raise the heat slightly, and add the tomatoes, vinegar, chicken stock, wine, and rosemary. Simmer until slightly thick, 5 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook at a rolling boil just until tender. Drain, and toss with the sauce. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon pepper, and serve immediately.

The perfect accompaniment to my gingersnap gelato was some broken bits of Éclat Chocolate’s Caramelized Hazelnut bar. Chocolatier Christopher Curtin’s creations at Éclat Chocolate are some of the finest and uniquely flavored sweets I have encountered.

While Curtin trained in France at le Companion du Devoir, he decided to make his home at the shop on High Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania. All of his chocolates are made at the West Chester location, yet you can find his products at Dean and Deluca and DiBruno Bros. as well as your local gourmet shop. Or, visit the online store at http://eclatchocolate.com and browse the delicious truffles, caramels, mendiants and bars.

I enjoy the “Destination Bar” collection, from the traditional Dark Pennsylvania Dutch Chocolate to the exotic Toasted Corn. For my fall-flavored gelato of ginger, molasses, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg, I decided on the Caramelized Hazelnut bar – a blend of caramelized Spanish hazelnuts and 65% dark chocolate. The hazelnuts provided a delightful crunch to my decadent ice cream – a dessert of great éclat.